Month: October 2015

Despite the dominance of digital marketing, direct mail is fighting back. Here are our top 6 reasons why this powerful marketing tool should not be ignored…

1) High response rate

The latest stats from Royal Mail are really encouraging. More than 92% of direct mail was opened in the UK last year, up by 10% in just two years! And 48% of adults took action after receiving it. Research from the DMA also shows that direct mail has a response rate 30 times that of email.

2) Works harder than digital

Surprisingly, direct mail has now overtaken digital marketing in terms of its return on investment (ROI). Every £1 spent on direct mail delivers an average of £3.22 ROI compared with digital’s £3.12. This rate has doubled in the last 10 years, down to better targeting of customer data and easier ways of personalisation. (Source: Royal Mail)

3) Helps other advertising perform better

When direct mail is used alongside other marketing channels, the results get better. According to BrandScience, digital campaigns pay back 62% more when there is direct mail in the mix. On average, direct mail pushes up ROI for every £1 spent from £2.81 to £3.40.

4) Customers trust it

People only have one letterbox. And when something pops through it, research shows that customers feel valued. The customers of 58 of the top 60 direct mailing companies, including BT, Lloyds TSB and Virgin, would prefer to be contacted by mail than e-mail. (Source: Ebiquity 2011).

5) Keeps customers interested

Direct mail gets your message straight to your customers, but it can also deliver a sample or a coupon, rewarding loyalty and encouraging a response. Every quarter, supermarket giant TESCO sends a mailing out to its 10m-strong Clubcard database, resulting in a 50%-100% increase in searches for ‘Tesco Clubcard’ online. (BMRB in 2011)

6) Digital stamps – new trial can improve response rates

It’s well known that using real stamps has positive effects on response rates for direct mail. So we’re eager to tell you that you can improve your response rates this autumn with Royal Mail’s new digital stamps. The trial process, available only until 30 November so you’ll need to be quick, allows a stamp image to be digitally printed on your mail pack…at no extra cost.

Print is getting interactive with the help of new scannable technology (think QR codes, but way better). There are loads of mobile apps out there, but why should you use one? And which one is the best?

Right now, Intelligent Print Recognition, or iPR, is our top pick. It turns any printed material digital and interactive (even if it was printed years ago) by linking it to mobile marketing campaigns via your brand’s existing mobile app. Simply update your brand’s app with the iPR software, and your app is scanning ready, with no extra apps for your customer to download. Hoorah!

iPR software also collects and analyses customer data whenever a printed item is scanned. Finally, you can measure the ROI of a piece of print!

Watch how it works:

Will it work for my business?There are loads of ways it can really add value to the items you print. Here are just a few examples:

Magazines & Mail order – your customer sees a dress they like, they scan the image and voila, they are on your website!